Some unsure Martin Luther King Jr. would appreciate how his words are used today

ALLENTOWN - For many people, the iconic image of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is him standing on a podium in front of the Lincoln Memorial on a sweltering August day in 1963, sharing his dream of racial equality in America.

Those who have never read or heard that entire speech may know only famous quotes captured in historical news clips, such as King’s longing for a nation where people are judged “not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

As King is celebrated on MLK Day on Monday, those familiar with the civil rights icon’s legacy, beyond just his March on Washington speech for racial and economic equality, say his words have been taken out of context to promote certain stances on divisive issues today.

“I’m concerned about how some people really misunderstand Dr. King’s message and have such a distorted view of an effort to include what’s been ignored about our nation’s history,” said Chuck Dickerson, a member of the NAACP’s Easton chapter.

Dickerson cited a Texas law passed in September that restricts how schools can teach about race-related topics. He also cited the controversy stirred in July when an organization donated books, which featured some stories from the viewpoints of people of color, to George Wolf Elementary in the Northampton Area School District.

“We’re now in an en

vironment where some people are questioning the need to teach children in public schools a true and complete history of our country,” Dickerson said. “People are weaponizing their concerns against something Dr. King stood for, which is having history books include the struggles and contributions of people of color in America.”

A nationwide backlash from some parents argues against teaching “critical race theory,” which has become a catchall phrase used by people critical of ways schools are dealing with racial concepts. Some conservatives call this an effort to shame white children.

“Critical race theory goes against everything Martin Luther King Jr. taught us, [which is] to not judge others by the color of their skin,” Kevin McCarthy, Republican minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, tweeted in July. “The left is trying to take America backward.”

Northampton Area School Board member Doug Vaughn, whose school district was involved in the July book donation agreed.

“I don’t know enough about the books donated, but I oppose critical race theory because it promotes racism and divides people, similarly to the principles of Marxism,” Vaughn said. “Defining people as racist based on the color of their skin is inherently wrong and immoral. I do not think Dr. King would support [this]. He was a peaceful man who supported national unity of all Americans regardless of their skin color, wealth or political affiliation.”

Ray Block controversy,

Jr., associate professor of political science and African-American studies at Penn State, said teaching America’s racial history isn’t about shaming whites for being white.

“It’s about educating everyone on the reality of race relations in America and how, despite some progress that’s been made since Dr. King’s time, there’s still work we all must do together to improve those relations,” Block said.

Cherry-picking King’s quote about his dream of a color-blind society dangerously ignores the rest of his speech about the gap that still needs to be filled between that dream and reality, Block said.

“When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir,” King said in that same address. “The note was a promise that all men, Black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.”

Though efforts by King and others have resulted in laws designed to prevent discrimination and guarantee rights, the default King spoke of continues today to a significant degree, Lehigh Valley activist Justan Parker Fields said. That led to the rise of Black Lives Matter, a nationwide grassroots movement for racial justice and equality.